Delivering Purposeful Value Without Compromise
From hybrid meat to cocoa and egg reduction, IMCD can help you reduce cost while protecting taste, texture, and overall product quality. Explore our solutions.
IMCD Value Talks: Cost Optimisation Without Compromise on Taste and Texture
Let’s talk value. From hybrid meat to cocoa and egg reduction, IMCD delivers "Purposeful Value Without Compromise", helping you reduce cost while protecting taste, texture, and overall product quality.
More Conscious Consumption Influencing Trends
As economic pressures rise, affordability and accessibility are becoming powerful drivers of consumer loyalty and choice. According to Innova Market Insights, 54% of consumers globally say that recent global uncertainties have influenced their food and beverage choices, prompting them to buy only what they truly need. As a result, consumers are increasingly turning to simple, straightforward foods, such as natural and clean-label solutions that support both physical and mental well-being.
At the same time, managing finances is a significant source of stress for 48% of consumers worldwide. In response, food choices are evolving toward products that offer comfort, reassurance, and a sense of control. “Food consumption” is rapidly transforming into “value eating,” with 1 in 3 consumers globally ranking affordability and accessibility as the most important aspects of their diet.
This shift is fuelling the rise of budget-friendly private label lines that successfully combine “value”, but also “taste.” Private labels continue to gain momentum, with 27% of consumers globally increasing their purchases and recognizing them as both high-quality and good value for money. Brands are responding quickly, with new private label product development growing by +7% from 2024 to 2025.
Turning Cost Pressure into Opportunity: Delivering Affordable Products Without Compromising Taste and Texture
Global data shows affordability has become a central driver of food and beverage choices. Innova Market Insights 2026 Top Ten Trends highlights “worth every bite”, framing how product price and value have become core purchase criteria globally under ongoing economic pressure. Surveys of global consumers in 2025 show accessibility and affordability ranking among the top values when people think of their ideal diets, reinforcing that value is now a strategic innovation axis, not just a promotional lever (1).
Hybrid Meat as an Affordable Lever
Industry analysis for 2026 notes that hybrid meat and fish (blending animal protein with plant, fungal or fermentation-derived ingredients) are “quietly” going mainstream. The trend has gained momentum due to cost reduction, while improving sustainability and meeting consumer expectations on taste and familiarity.
According to Edible Planet Ventures, in some European and Asian markets, private-label sausage and ground meat products are already hybrid, often without heavy front-of-pack promotion (2).
Processors and retailers are shifting emphasis from 100% plant-based analogues, which have struggled on price and repeat purchase, toward hybrid meat solutions to meet plant-protein and climate targets in an affordable manner.
Egg Reduction and Egg Alternatives
Food industry forecasts for 2026, such as Foods Connected, highlight alternative egg systems, driven by cost management, functionality, and resilience against egg price volatility. These solutions are positioned well for bakery, dessert, and foodservice where eggs are a major cost component, allowing formulators to reduce or replace eggs while maintaining volume, aeration, and texture consumers expect in finished products (3).
Cocoa Reduction and Cocoa Alternatives
Climate-driven supply constraints have lowered cocoa yields and pushed cocoa prices to an unprecedented spike in 2024-2025. Even though prices have eased in 2026, they stabilized at structurally higher, volatile levels compared with the pre-2023 period. As a result, according to Just2trade, manufacturers should not rely on cocoa “coming back to normal,” but prepare for alternative and partial replacements or cocoa-efficient flavour systems are a rational hedge against ongoing volatility and above-historical input costs (4).
IMCD Purposeful Solutions for Cost-reduction, Nutritional Value and Indulgent Taste
At IMCD Food & Nutrition, we go beyond ingredients: we help you turn challenges into opportunities. We are committed to solving your technical hurdles and co-creating solutions that are healthy, convenient, and sustainable, fully aligned with today’s market expectations.
Our experts have developed innovative, trend-driven prototype concepts designed to support your product development and to help you create solutions that are cost-effective, nutritionally optimized, and uncompromising in taste and texture.
Among the key challenges in developing hybrid or plant-based products:
| Customer Challenges | Our Solutions | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Managing cost while meeting clean label expectations | Replacing or partially replacing volatile ingredients (e.g. meat, eggs) with label-friendly ingredients that are less costly and easily recognizable by consumers |
| Nutrition | Equalling the nutritional requirements of the original product | Adding micronutrients, fibres and proteins to ensure the final optimized solution has the same nutritional value of the original |
| Sensory properties | Compromising on the sensory characteristics of the original product | Using our technical expertise and extensive ingredient portfolio to achieve the expected flavour and texture |
| Quality | Compromising on high-quality ingredients to decrease cost | Carefully selecting from our broad portfolio, the most suitable ingredients to balance cost, nutritional and sensory properties without compromising on performance |
Discover IMCD Value Talks Solutions
Cost-Efficient Hybrid Meat Without Sensory Trade-Offs
Balanced Hybrid Sausage
Why It Delivers
Our Balanced Hybrid Sausage combines 50% meat and plant-based ingredients to deliver a balanced mix of taste, nutrition, and cost efficiency, with high-quality protein and appealing flavour. A tailored system of alginate, plant proteins, and fibre ensures a firm texture, while yeast extracts and natural flavours provide an authentic, satisfying taste without compromise.
Concept Highlights
- 50% meat for optimized cost-in-use
- Maintains taste and texture expectations
- Enriched with fibres and vitamins
- Shelf-life improved
- Reduced saturated fat
- Firm, satisfying texture
- Authentic, rich flavour
Indulgent Hybrid Burger
Why It Delivers
Our Indulgent Hybrid Burger blends 50% meat with plant-based ingredients to deliver a cost-effective solution without compromising taste, texture, or flavour. It offers a balanced, better-for-you option that combines enjoyment, nutrition, and more sustainable production for modern consumers.
Concept Highlights
- 50% meat for a cost-effective solution
- No trade-offs on taste, texture, or flavour
- Appeals to health-conscious consumers
- Supports sustainability trends in food
80% Restructured Pork Ham
Why It Delivers
A cost-effective restructured ham made with pork protein, designed to offer excellent meat extension without compromising on flavour or texture. This product provides a perfect balance of quality and value, ensuring a satisfying experience while keeping costs low.
Concept Highlights
- Cost-effective restructured ham
- 80% pork for optimized extension
- Authentic taste and texture
- Improved sliceability and cohesion
- Stable water and fat binding
- Extended shelf life
- Suitable for value-tier and private label
Irresistible Bakery: A Premium Egg-free Alternative
Less Is More Brioche-Style Bun
Why It Delivers
This nutritious & cost-effective brioche-style bun contains no eggs nor butter which account for 50% or more of the total recipe weight of a standard brioche formulation. Featuring the latest technologies for egg and butter replacement.
Concept Highlights
- Cost effective solution
- 30% fewer calories than standard brioche
- Significant reduction in saturated fat at 8% of Daily Value when compared to standard brioche at 58% of Daily Value
- 0mg Cholesterol vs 105mg for standard brioche
- Enzyme technology for texture and fresh keeping
- 7g of plant protein per 65g serving
Reduced Cocoa Cupcake Collection
Why It Delivers
A Collection of chocolate cupcakes featuring 50% cocoa reduction without compromising taste.
Concept Highlights
- Protects against cocoa pricing volatility with 50% cocoa reduction
- Natural Flavour declaration for clean label offering
- Liquid and powder solutions available for manufacturing efficiencies
Let’s Solve It Together
If you’re aiming at optimizing your solutions or facing a formulation hurdle, our team is here to guide you through technical insight and application testing, while offering an extensive portfolio of high-performing ingredients that will help you develop cost-effective concepts.
Reach out to explore how our affordable solutions can support you reducing costs, while being nutritionally elevated and irresistibly delicious, for developments without compromise.
Sources:
- https://www.innovamarketinsights.com/trends/top-food-and-beverage-trends-2026/
- https://www.edibleplanetventures.com/post/8-food-tech-trends-that-will-shape-2026-according-to-bright-green-partners-new-report
- https://blog.foodsconnected.com/2026-food-industry-trends
- https://j2t.com/solutions/blogview/cocoa-price-prediction/
Delivering Purposeful Value Without Compromise
From hybrid meat to cocoa and egg reduction, IMCD can help you reduce cost while protecting taste, texture, and overall product quality. Explore our solutions.
IMCD Value Talks: Cost Optimisation Without Compromise on Taste and Texture
